To most educators, 60 elementary-school kids in one classroom would sound like a nightmare.
To founding New American Academy Principal Shimon Waronker, it's the new way forward.
Waronker to Initiate New School Model in Crown Heights
To most educators, 60 elementary-school kids in one classroom would sound like a nightmare.
To founding New American Academy Principal Shimon Waronker, it’s the new way forward.
Waronker, a Spanish-speaking Hasidic Jew who earned his stripes turning around one of the city’s most violent middle schools in The Bronx, will open a trilingual elementary school in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, in September. The kids will all graduate fluent in Spanish and French, in addition to English.
The innovative public school will put 60 kids in a classroom with four teachers, who will stay with those same students from kindergarten all the way through fifth grade.
The students will sit around oval tables in giant 1,200-square-foot rooms.
Waronker, who hopes to open as many as 50 replications of the school by 2012 if the model takes off, believes the unusual set-up will help build deep relationships among teachers and students and will allow instructors to target their lessons to kids’ specific learning styles.
He’s also introducing student-initiated learning — in which kids help decide the subject matter of each course. The method is the hallmark of elite private schools like Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, whose principal collaborated on the venture.
“The model of teaching and learning that he’s proposing is a very different model from the one that I think has the most currency right now,” said Dr. Richard Elmore, Waronker’s adviser on the project at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education.
“It’s one that empowers kids to be active agents in their own learning.”
The New American Academy will also be the first school in the city to introduce what’s known as a “career ladder” for teachers, where promotion from one title to the next is based on merit, not length of service.
It’s a departure for the United Federation of Teachers, which has generally opposed merit-based pay scales but which has been an active member of the school’s planning committee.
Although city Department of Education officials said they were still hammering out the contract details, an agreement would mean that the four teachers would be earning different salaries, ranging from a first- or second-year “apprentice,” who averages $50,000 a year, to a “master,” who makes up to $120,000.
“This is an entirely different structure,” said Schools Chancellor Joel Klein.
“Here you’ve got basically four [career] levels and an ability to really leverage the talent of your top people and to develop the people coming after them.”
Among the major themes students will learn at the academy — where kids will granted admission by lottery — are keyboarding in kindergarten, computer programming in first grade, as well as how plumbing, electricity, refrigeration and motors work in the later grades.
why here, why now?
If this is so great, why isn’t Mr. Waronker doing this for OUR kids?
Yeah, I know…dumb question. Let’s see: reason #1. OT. #2. ULY. #3. BR. #4 BM.
ecetera.
CHANIe
THE ABOVE COMMENTS ARE NEGATIVE AND UNHELPFUL
What a shame!
The difference is that the principals and hanhala in our schools won’t listen to him or let him be in control to do this effectively, so he doesn’t want to get involved.In the public schools, they do listen. What a shame!!
fans in Boston
YAY!! We heard R’ Waronker speak about his school model in Boston last year and are SOOO excited to see it getting put into practice! A big thumbs up to the NYC school board for giving this program a chance – we hope is a huge success!
To the first commenter – Speak to your schools administration… if his model is successful, we need to encourage the educators we pay thousands of dollars to employ to reach out to him and others like him for guidance in enhancing our school system.
Meanwhile, yashar koach to R’ Waronker on his continued Kiddush Hashem.
Amazed Fan
Love to help and join.
How can i ??
reason
reason
would any yeshivah pay to Rabbi Waronker 500k a year ?
he is #1 in America and problably in the world!
Educator
All of Crown Heights will benefit from having that school there.
a teacher
is there a way to contact Mr. Waronker?
Tomchei bochurim
We heard him come and farbreng in Morristown New Jersey for the tifferess winter program, and it was amazing! This guy knows what he is doing, and is a real big chosid of the rebbe! He should have much success in all that he is doing and maybe one day g-d willing he can bring this whole system to the lubavitch schools!!!
ben
is it going to be co-ed?
emeti
so CHANIe, if you think that the other comments are negative, then can you get all those schools to accept changes for the benefit of the kids?
Did you read what the BR grads said in the article about Bais Rivkah? We better listen to the youth and help them be chasidim that are enabled with confidence and success.
Yeshiva Parent
While his idea is innovative, it is neither new nor unique. There are a number of school initiatives around the country basing their educational model on similar principals, ideas, and structures as mentioned in this article. Full kudos to Mr.Waronker for putting his spin on it and convincing others to give him the chance to put it into action.
As to why it cannot be done in our own schools, or some model of it, or some other innovative educational model. The answer is plain and simple, and most painful.
Transparency, Responsiveness, and Accountability. None of which exist in the schools which we send our children.
Fantastic
What Mr. Waronker is doing is based on the Reggio-Emilia method of teaching, and can not properly be implemented in a Frum school system due to the inner workings. It could be adapted for the secular studies program, but for many in Crwn Heights, if they want their children to have a secular education, they generally only want the basics, whereas this program explores a much broader range of topics and ideas.
Our Childrens- Education
If we could get our tax money to help pay for our schools instead of paying for public schools, perhaps we could afford such innovative programs.
to Fantastic
to “Fantastic”:
R’ Waronker is an innovator – if given the challenge and control of a frum school, I expect he could come up with an applicable method that would improve on the current system. In my estimation, this is what we need to be pushing to accomplish (whether it is him or any of the other dynamic Lubavitchers making their mark on the world of education) – that the people who are not running successful programs be encouraged to reach out for help from the best we resources we have.
a hopeful kid
i think its greate ,this sistom, he knows wat hes doin all right! wen will this be in my school?
Need a new school
It seems like everyone has wonderful ideas for what the schools in CH should be like. So why dont we open a new one, that is innovative and creative.
I am sure there has to be some grants out there to create an interesting invigorating and creative school right here in CH.
Question is who gets to enjoy it the boys or the girls?
Start with Grade 1, 2 and 3. So much to do, just not enough people willing to work on it!
EsGy
He is an expert in the field of public education. Hopefully our own school leaders can ask him for advice. A man of such educational expertise is hard to find – let’s advocate for him and appreciate his hard work and efforts.
Good ideas for THEM, not US
I for one do not want my child in a class of 60 (!) students, even if there are 4 teachers in the classroom.
Also, how do you realistically keep the same teachers from Kindergarten through kitah hey? Many things can crop up (shlichus opportunities, family changes, etc.) which cause a teacher to need to quit. Plus, R“L, sometimes a teacher needs to be fired.
The model of having each class have the same teachers for all of those years is in order to simulate a family-like connection that doesn’t suddenly get cut off at the end of the school year. This is great for ghetto goyim, and for the ”nanny generation“ of today’s yuppies. But, B”H, in a community like ours, the kids HAVE real parents, in nearly all cases.
I like Waronker and many of his ideas — FOR GOYIM IN PUBLIC SCHOOL. And some of those ideas are interesting if used carefully in a frum system.
But let’s not “throw away the baby with the bath water,” just because there are SOME things needing improvement in our own frum system of education.
ah new parent
My son is entering the 1st grade of this wonderful establishment in my district under Mr Waronker and we can’t wait!God bless this man and the efforts of our education system that is allowing this.I am particular interested in the tri-language and the relationships form between teachers and students all the way.I have been telling everyone about it and i know a school like that will become the most coveted am just too happy my son is on the first train,yay!
catherine C
I am a special education teacher and I have been co-teaching at the elementary school level for seven years. I think Mr. Woronker is on to something BIG as we are on the forefront of great change in education. I am anxiously waiting for my National Board results so can be a part of this type of education that all children need.